Archaeologists working in the ruins of Ancient Larsa have uncovered a rare 3,800-year-old Babylonian Census Bureau. The subterranean vault contains over 4,000 cuneiform tablets that meticulously record demographic data, including household sizes, livestock counts, and military conscription eligibility for every district in the kingdom during the reign of Rim-Sin I.
The documents provide a detailed statistical snapshot of the Old Babylonian period, revealing how the state managed social mobility and the distribution of land. Researchers have noted that the tablets include the earliest known actuarial tables, used to predict agricultural yields and tax revenue. This find is being hailed as a major breakthrough in understanding the administrative complexity of early Mesopotamian states.